Thalia in der Gaußstraße

One day, the young woman Yong-Hye decides to stop eating meat. This seemingly small decision shakes not only the foundations of her marriage but those of the entire family. Her renunciation becomes a radical act against control, violence, and societal expectations. The novel by Nobel laureate Han Kang is an appeal for non-violence, a declaration of love for self-determination, and an exploration of the fragility of human identity. Director Lilja Rupprecht dedicates herself to this poetically disturbing study of quiet resistance, its limits, and the unexpected vastness of the self.

Who takes care of you when you're sick? Who is by your side when you experience violence? Who shows up unexpectedly and stays for more than a coffee? Who do you hold onto, even though you know you should leave? What relationships arise not because you want them, but because you need them? Who kicks your ass, who just lets you be? Are chosen families really that chosen? And who stays when push comes to shove? Through conversations with friends, Cy Linke and team develop the performance KAPUTT, LIEBEN about togetherness in moments of joy, killjoy, and crisis. A radically honest, poetic evening."Welcome to the possibly impossible Family Fest" With great thanks to the conversation partners:Laurin Assfalg, David Attenberger, Milena Bühring, Dori Förster, Marietheres Mio Jesse, Sujood Kabha, Joni Kinet, Dennis Dita Kopp, Christine Korfant, Hannah Lesser, Lorenz Nolting, Didine van der Platenvlotbrug, Hilde Rosenboom, Charlotte Tienes, Tjijandjeua ´Gift` Uzera, Yevheniia Vidishcheva, Petra Vormbrocke

Melli researches femicides in literature and mythology. Tricia fights against misogynistic online hate, having experienced it firsthand. As they wonder where change can begin, they jokingly call "the goddesses"—and find themselves, barely spoken, right before the goddesses on Mount Olympus. Demeter, Aphrodite, Athene: trapped in patriarchal structures that also rule Olympus and offer women few roles—muse, courtesan, porneia. How to escape patriarchy? One believes in tenderness, another in lust as a cure, the third in revenge. In their discussion with the two mortals, a century-old theme is revealed: How do women live with a history they did not write themselves? Golda Barton's Porneia opens a space where myth and present day meet, playfully and contentiously, inviting reflection—on justice, different perspectives of feminism, and the possibility of a different history: Herstory instead of History.

The lace curtains are pulled aside, the good china packed away in boxes. A young woman and her grandmother sit among the remnants of a life. Together, they try to grasp the incomprehensible and remember once more: shared outings, the forest outside the door, old myths, and Grandma's magical bedtime stories. They give themselves over to their fantasies, play with memories, and take each other by the hand to ignite old and new fires. Joyfully, they face pain and grief. But how can one remember a person's body? How a voice? And why does saying goodbye hurt so damn much? Kaija Knauer's drama "Zünzle" tells of the connections that keep us in the world, of the question of what remains when one loses oneself – and of a very special relationship. Her text was nominated for the Young Playwrights' Award at the Staatstheater Braunschweig and supported by Wiener Wortstätten. Director Ilario Raschèr completed his directing studies at the HFMT Hamburg in 2024 and is bringing her text to the stage for the first time.

Kafka's The Metamorphosis is arguably the most famous story about alienation, adaptation, and the desire to be seen. It poses the question: What happens to those who no longer fit into the system? Burhan Qurbani, known for his cinematic reinterpretations of works such as Berlin Alexanderplatz and No One Will Save You, transfers Kafka's story to a present day where belonging must be renegotiated. Four people with different perspectives mysteriously encounter each other – as if fate had brought them together. Their experiences are mirrored: the fear of exclusion, the struggle for identity in a so-called pluralistic society, the question of adaptation and self-assertion. But what if it's not Gregor Samsa, but the world that has transformed? Qurbani's piece unfolds Kafka's motif of metamorphosis into a polyphonic echo of our present – of people fighting for visibility, who must assert themselves in a world that has always condemned them to fail.